(NewsNation) — Russian American dual citizen Ksenia Karelina has pleaded guilty in a Russian court to a charge of treason, state news agency RIA quoted her lawyer as saying on Wednesday.
Karelina, who was not included in a major prisoner swap between Russia and the West last week, is on trial in the city of Yekaterinburg over a donation she made in 2022 to a charity supporting Ukraine.
Wednesday’s hearing was the first in her case since the Aug. 1 swap involving 24 prisoners held in seven countries, which saw three American citizens released from Russian jails. RIA said the prosecution and defense would sum up their arguments in Karelina’s case on Thursday and the verdict would be announced the same day.
Karelina was born in Russia but emigrated to the United States in 2012 and became a U.S. citizen in 2021. The Los Angeles spa employee faces a sentence of 12 years to life in prison if convicted.
The FSB security service arrested her after flying to Russia to visit her family in Yekaterinburg at the start of the year.
Investigators brought the treason charge after discovering on her mobile phone that she had donated $51.80 to Razom, a charity providing aid to Ukraine, when Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. The FSB alleged that the ultimate beneficiary was the Ukrainian army.
Razom said at the time of her arrest that it was “appalled”.
The charity’s website says it supports a range of humanitarian projects including the supply of first aid kits, wood stoves, generators, radios and vehicles to frontline Ukrainian medics. It also helps Ukrainian children and vulnerable communities affected by the war by providing food, shelter, psychological support and clean water.
Friends have created a Change.org petition demanding her release and her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, is sharing updates on his Instagram account.
Reuters and NewsNation affiliate KTLA in Los Angeles contributed to this report.